Indiana & City Code Provisions:

Ordinances:

It is the responsibility of the property owner to restore surfaces damaged by graffiti to an approved state of maintenance and repair. (Bloomington Ordinance 03-08 1 (part), 2003)

*(From Appendix 1 of MEMO on graffiti programs from Marsha Bradford)

Future Ordinances

The City of Bloomington is currently researching nationwide community responses to graffiti. The city's Graffiti Task Force is examining ordinances that make removal the responsibility of the property owner, authorizing the city to step in if graffiti is not removed within a certain period of time. If you have any ideas or opinions on any such ordinances, please contact the Safe and Civil City Director. (355-7777)

How to Organize a Graffiti Clean-Up

Get in touch with the Safe and Civil City Director (355-7777). They will help you get permission from property owners and a graffiti removal kit, which are available to check out a number of community centers and neighborhood organizations.

Use an existing organization as a starting point. Are you already a member of a community center, church, school group, or neighborhood association? If so, those are great places to start because you are already connected to many people who share your ideas. Ask around, see if anyone is interested.

Stay Local. With this organization (or with people you recruited on your own), clean up your neighborhood, a certain block, the area around your local school or community center. Concentrate on one area. Is there an alley that you consider a real eyesore? Get a group together to help clean it!

Maintain an Area. You might want to consider maintaining an area by organizing a group that wants to have a clean-up three times a year or more! These kinds of groups are effective because they let graffiti writers know that there are people who care about that area.